Pentatonix released its latest music video last week. “Mary, Did You Know?” Mark Lowry wrote the words in 1984 when his pastor asked him to write the program for the living Christmas tree choir presentation. The music was written by Buddy Greene. YouTube users have approvad of the video, with “This gave me goosebumps! Absolutely beautiful rendition of this classic song,” Erin Lee wrote. “ Even those who wouldn’t normally listen to spiritual songs confessed to feeling the power of the performance. “I’m not one to normally be drawn to religious-based things, but, wow, this song had a certain magnanimity to it,” Austin Minx posted. It has gone viral with over 6 million views...

Joseph of Nazareth (2000) "Gli amici di Gesù - Giuseppe di Nazareth" (original title) TV Movie - 90 min - Drama - 29 April 2001 (USA) The people of Jerusalem are suffering under the reign of HEROD, and are hoping to be delivered from the Roman occupiers by the Messiah whose arrival, it is rumored, is to take place very soon. The 35-year-old widower is not interested in participating in any fighting against the Romans. Joseph gets a visit from JOACHIM and ANNA, asking him to marry their unprotected 14-year-old daughter MARY. Joseph agrees, but promises to preserve her chastity. Nevertheless, one day Mary tells him, in Anna's presence, that she is pregnant. Believing in this immaculate conception is very difficult for Joseph, as is the message that her son JESUS will end the reign of Herod, which is announced to him in a vision. Their son is born in a Bethlehem cattle shed and heralded as the new Messiah by the Three Magi. King Herod also finds out about the rumor, and decides to kill all of Bethlehem's firstborn. Joseph and Mary escape to Egypt.Directors: Raffaele Mertes, Elisabetta Marchetti Writers: Gareth Jones, Gianmario Pagano (story) Stars: Tobias Moretti, Stefania Rivi, Massimo Reale |

(Vatican Radio) Jesus weeps today when the doors of our hearts, those of the pastors of the Church, are closed to His surprises not recognizing the One who brings peace said Pope Francis at Mass Thursday morning in Casa Santa Marta. Commenting on the Gospel of the Day, Pope Francis said Jesus weeps over Jerusalem because its people did not recognize the One who brings peace. He said the Lord weeps because of the “closure of heart" of His "chosen city, His chosen people. They had no time to open the door. They were too busy, too self-satisfied. And He continues to knock on doors as he knocked on the door of the heart of Jerusalem, at the gates of His brothers, His sisters; on our doors, the doors of our hearts, the doors of the Church. The people of Jerusalem were content with their way of life and did not need the Lord: they failed to realize that they needed salvation. This is why they had closed their heart before the Lord". "Jesus weeps” over Jerusalem - said the Pope – the same as He “weeps over His Church, over us today” "Why did Jerusalem not welcome the Lord? Because [the people] were content with what they had, and did not want any problems. But - as the Lord says in the Gospel - 'if you only knew, on this day, what brings you peace. You did not recognize the time of your visitation '. The city was afraid to be visited by the Lord; afraid of the gratuity of the Lord’s visit. The city felt safe in the knowledge of what it could handle. We all feel safe in the things that we can handle ... But the visit of the Lord, its surprises, those we cannot handle". And Pope Francis added: "Jerusalem was afraid of this: of being saved by the surprises of the Lord. The [people] were afraid of the Lord, their Bridegroom, their Beloved. And so Jesus wept. When God visits His people, He brings joy, He leads us to conversion. We all fear happiness – that joy that the Lord brings, because we cannot control it. We are afraid of conversion because conversion means allowing the Lord to lead us". "Jerusalem was content, happy - the Pope said - its temple worked.The priests made sacrifices, people came on pilgrimage, the teachers of the law had arranged everything, everything! Everything was clear! All the commandments were clear ... And with all of this Jerusalem had closed the door". The Cross, which was the "price of that refusal" - the Pope noted -, shows us the love of Jesus and what leads Him to "weep today - often - for His Church”. "I ask myself: today we Christians who know the faith, the catechism, who go to Mass every Sunday, we Christians, we pastors are we content with ourselves? Because we have organized everything and do not need new visits from the Lord ... And the Lord continues to knock on the door of each one of us and of His Church, the pastors of the Church. Yes, the door of our hearts, of the heart of the Church, of her pastors will not open: and the Lord weeps, even today". The Pope also urged people to examine their conscience, "Let us reflect on ourselves, as we are right now before God". (Emer McCarthy)

Thursday of the Thirty-third Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 500

Reading 1RV 5:1-10

I, John, saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who sat on the throne.It had writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals.Then I saw a mighty angel who proclaimed in a loud voice,“Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earthwas able to open the scroll or to examine it.I shed many tears because no one was found worthyto open the scroll or to examine it.One of the elders said to me, “Do not weep.The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed,enabling him to open the scroll with its seven seals.”

Then I saw standing in the midst of the throneand the four living creatures and the eldersa Lamb that seemed to have been slain.He had seven horns and seven eyes;these are the seven spirits of God sent out into the whole world.He came and received the scroll from the right handof the one who sat on the throne.When he took it,the four living creatures and the twenty-four eldersfell down before the Lamb.Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense,which are the prayers of the holy ones.They sang a new hymn:

“Worthy are you to receive the scrolland break open its seals,for you were slain and with your Blood you purchased for Godthose from every tribe and tongue, people and nation.You made them a kingdom and priests for our God,and they will reign on earth.”

Responsorial Psalm PS 149:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6A AND 9B

R. (Rev. 5:10) The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.or:R. Alleluia.Sing to the LORD a new songof praise in the assembly of the faithful.Let Israel be glad in their maker,let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.R. The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.or:R. Alleluia.Let them praise his name in the festive dance,let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.For the LORD loves his people,and he adorns the lowly with victory.R. The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.or:R. Alleluia.Let the faithful exult in glory;let them sing for joy upon their couches;Let the high praises of God be in their throats.This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.R. The Lamb has made us a kingdom of priests to serve our God.or:R. Alleluia.

Gospel LK 19:41-44

As Jesus drew near Jerusalem,he saw the city and wept over it, saying,“If this day you only knew what makes for peace–but now it is hidden from your eyes.For the days are coming upon youwhen your enemies will raise a palisade against you;they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.They will smash you to the ground and your children within you,and they will not leave one stone upon another within youbecause you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis travelled to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation Headquarters in Rome on Thursday, to give an address to the Second International Conference on Nutrition taking place there this week. In his speech the Pope said, that while people speak about new rights, those who are hungry ask to be recognized as citizens with dignity.In 1992 St Pope John Paul II came to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation Headquarters in Rome for the First Conference on Nutrition. Twenty two years later Pope Francis was in the same hall addressing participants who included the Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Margaret Chan, and the Director General of the (FAO), Professor José Graziano da Silva on the occasion of the Second International Conference.

The Holy Father recalled Pope John Paul II’s words back then when he warned the international community against the risk of the “paradox of plenty”, in which there is food for everyone, but not everyone can eat, while waste, excessive consumption and the use of food for other purposes is visible before our very eyes. Unfortunately, said Pope Francis to those gathered, “this “paradox” remains relevant.”

Speaking in Spanish, the Pope praised the work of this second conference which aims to study the forms of intervention necessary in the fight against hunger and malnutrition, as well as the changes that must be made to existing strategies. The Holy Father also noted the work the Church is doing on behalf of the poor and needy.

In the four point address Pope Francis made particular reference to what he called ““market priorities”, the “primacy of profit”, which he said were a hindrance to the struggle against hunger and malnutrition.

He also spoke about the issue of rights saying that “while we speak of new rights, the hungry remain, at the street corner, and ask to be recognised as citizens, to receive a healthy diet. We ask for dignity, not for charity, he said.

He continued on this theme stressing that “development plans and the work of international organisations must take into consideration the wish, so frequent among ordinary people, for respect for fundamental human rights and, in this case, the rights of the hungry.”

The Holy Father called on states and international institutions to refer to the language of the human heart, and nurture the values of, justice, peace, solidarity and love, in a spirit of dialogue and mutual listening.

Before departing from the “Caribbean” Hall to greet FAO staff members and express his gratitude for their work, the Pope left those listening to his address with this phrase from I old man he met many years ago who said to him "God always forgives, insults, and abuses; God always forgives. The earth will never forgive. Protect the Mother earth said Pope Francis, so that it does not meet with destruction.

Though from the time of King Egbert, in 802, the Kings of the West-Saxons were monarchs of all England, yet several kings reigned in certain parts after that time, in some measure subordinate to them. One Offa was King of the East-Angles, who, being desirous to end his days in penance and devotion to Rome, resigned his crown to St. Edmund, at that time only fifteen years of age, but a most virtuous prince, and descended from the old English-Saxon kings of this isle. The saint was placed on the throne of his ancestors, as Lydgate, Abbo, and others express themselves, and was crowned by Humbert, Bishop of Elman, on Christmas Day, in 855, at Burum, a royal villa on the Stour, now called Bures, or Buers. Though very young, he was by his piety, goodness, humility, and all other virtues, the model of good princes. He was a declared enemy of flatterers and informers, and would see with his own eyes and hear with his own ears, to avoid being surprised into a wrong judgment, or imposed upon by the passions or ill designs of others. The peace and happiness of his people were his whole concern, which he endeavoured to establish by an impartial administration of justice and religious regulations in his dominions. He was the father of his subjects, particularly of the poor, the protector of widows and orphans, and the support of the weak. Religion and piety were the most distinguishing part of his character. Monks and devout persons used to know the psalter without book, that they might recite the psalms at work, in travelling, and on every other occasion. To get it by heart St. Edmund lived in retirement a whole year in his royal tower at Hunstanton (which he had built for a country solitude), which place is now a village in Norfolk. The book which the saint used for that purpose was religiously kept at St. Edmundsbury till the dissolution of abbeys.

The holy king had reigned fifteen years when the Danes infested his dominions. Hinguar and Hubba, two brothers, the most barbarous of all the Danish plunderers landing in England, wintered among the East-Angles; then, having made a truce with that nation, they in summer sailed to the north, and landing at the mouth of the Tweed, plundered with fire and sword Northumberland, and afterwards Mercia, directing their march through Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, and Cambridgeshire. Out of a lust of rage and cruelty, and the most implacable aversion to the Christian name, they everywhere destroyed the churches and monasteries; and, as it were in barbarous sport, massacred all priests and religious persons whom they met with. In the great monastery of Coldingham, beyond Berwick, the nuns, fearing not death but insults which might be offered to their chastity, at the instigation of St. Ebba, the holy abbess, cut off their noses and upper lips, that appearing to the barbarians frightful spectacles of horror, they might preserve their virtue from danger; the infidels accordingly were disconcerted at such a sight, and spared their virtue, but put them all to the sword. In their march, amongst other monasteries, those of Bardney, Crowland, Peterborough, Ely, and Huntingdon were levelled with the ground, and the religious inhabitants murdered. In the Cathedral of Peterborough is shown a monument (removed thither from a place without the building) called Monks'-Stone, on which are the effigies of an abbot and several monks. It stood over the pit in which fourscore monks of this house were interred, whom Hinguar and Hubba massacred in 870. The barbarians, reeking with blood, poured down upon St. Edmund's dominions, burning Thetford, the first town they met with, and laying waste all before them. The people, relying upon the faith of treaties, thought themselves secure, and were unprepared. However, the good king raised what forces he could, met the infidels, or at least a part of their army near Thetford, and discomfited them. But seeing them soon after reinforced with fresh numbers, against which his small body was not able to make any stand, and being unwilling to sacrifice the lives of his soldiers in vain, and grieving for the eternal loss of the souls of his enemies, who would be slain in a fruitless engagement, he disbanded his troops and retired himself towards his castle of Framlingham, in Suffolk. The barbarian had sent him proposals which were inconsistent both with religion and with the justice which he owed to his people. These the saint rejected, being resolved rather to die a victim of his faith and duty to God, than to do anything against his conscience and religion. In his flight he was over taken and surrounded by infidels at Oxon, upon the Waveney: he concealed himself for some short time, but, being discovered, was bound with heavy chains and conducted to the general's tent. Terms were again offered him equally prejudicial to religion and to his people, which the holy Icing refused to confirm, declaring that religion was dearer to him than his life, which he would never purchase by offending God. Hinguar, exasperated at this answer, in his barbarous rage caused him to be cruelly beaten with cudgels, then to be tied to a tree and torn a long time together with whips. All this he bore with invincible meekness and patience, never ceasing to call upon the name of Jesus. The infidels were the more exasperated, and as he stood bound to the tree, they made him a mark wantonly to shoot at, till his body was covered with arrows like a porcupine. Hinguar at length, in order to put an end to the butchery, commanded his head to be struck off. Thus the saint finished his martyrdom on the 20th of November, in 870, the fifteenth of his reign, and twenty-ninth of his age; the circumstances of which St. Dunstan learned from one who was armour-bearer to the saint and an eye-witness. The place was then called Henglesdun, now Hoxon, or Hoxne; a priory of monks was afterwards built there which bore the name of the martyr.

The saint's head was carried by the infidels into a wood and thrown into a brake of bushes; but miraculously found by a pillar of light and deposited with the body at Hoxdon. These sacred remains were very soon after conveyed to Bedricsworth, or Kingston, since called St. Edmundsbury, because this place was St. Edmund's own town and private patrimony; not on account of his burial, for in the English-Saxon language signified a court or palace. A church of timber was erected over the place where he was interred, which was thus built according to the fashion of those times. Trunks of large trees were sawn lengthways in the middle and reared up with one end fixed in the ground, with the bark or rough side outermost. These trunks being made of an equal height and set up close to one another, and the interstices filled up with mud or mortar, formed the four walls, upon which was raised a thatched roof. Nor can we be surprised at the homeliness of this structure, since the same was the fabric of the royal rich abbey of Glastonbury, the work of the most munificent and powerful West-Saxon kings, till in latter ages it was built in a stately manner of stone. The precious remains of St. Edmund were honoured with many miracles. In 920, for fear of the barbarians under Turkil the Dane, in the reign of King Ethelred, they were conveyed to London by Alfun, bishop of that city, and the monk Egelwin, or Ailwin, the keeper of this sacred treasure, who never abandoned it. After remaining three years in the Church of St. Gregory, in London, it was translated again with honour to St. Edmundsbury in 923. The great church of timberwork stood till King Knute, or Canutus, to make reparation for the injuries his father Swein, or Sweno, had done to this place and to the relics of the martyr, built and founded there, in 1020, a new most magnificent church and abbey in honour of this holy martyr. The unparalleled piety, humility, meekness, and other virtues of St. Edmund are admirably set forth by our historians. This incomparable prince and holy martyr was considered by succeeding English kings as their special patron, and as an accomplished model of all royal virtues. The feast of St. Edmund is reckoned among the holidays of precept in this kingdom by the national council of Oxford in 1222; but is omitted in the constitutions of Archbishop Simon Islep, who retrenched certain holidays in 1362.